A Team Goes Decades Between Innings

Outfielder Peter Finch (43) and his New York University teammates practicing at the university's Coles Sports Center on Feb. 27.CreditCreditMichael Appleton for The New York Times

By Tom Pedulla

March 3, 2015

Members of New York University’s first varsity baseball team in 41 years may be too young to understand the magnitude of the challenges they face.

That appeared to be the case when the Violets made their debut in a three-game series at Oglethorpe University outside Atlanta in mid-February. With a roster of 23 freshmen, six sophomores, two juniors and no seniors, they trailed, 8-0, in each of their first two games and lost by a combined score of 27-6.

Image

Violets including Alec Stearn (10), a pitcher and outfielder, practiced their swings at a racquetball court. The roster has no seniors.CreditMichael Appleton for The New York Times

They righted themselves in the series finale behind the stellar pitching of Michael Vokulich, a freshman right-hander who pounded the strike zone and gave up seven hits through six and two-thirds innings. Vokulich left with a 2-0 lead after the Stormy Petrels loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh inning of a doubleheader. Matthew Millus used the first pitch of his collegiate career to record the final out, on a pop-up to shortstop Jon Iaione.

Although that secured the university’s first baseball victory since an 11-1 rout of St. John’s on May 16, 1973, the moment was initially lost on Iaione, yet another freshman. He chucked the ball aside as if it were just another game.

“The historic factor didn’t hit me at all,” he said. “I’m just thinking that we got a win, and that’s great. Then the coaches were talking about the ball and gathering other memorabilia. It never occurred to me.”

Image

During a practice, Violets players wore their home uniforms for the first time.CreditMichael Appleton for The New York Times

Making certain he secured the game ball was only the latest challenge for Coach Doug Kimbler since he began recruiting in July 2013 on behalf of a program long forgotten. N.Y.U. reached the College World Series in 1956 and 1969 and is known for producing Ralph Branca, a right-hander who broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1944. The expense of competing at the Division I level contributed to the end of the sport at N.Y.U. after an 0-14 season in 1974. Baseball has been restored as a Division III program, accompanied by the start of softball.

“From my standpoint, and the view of a lot of folks around here, baseball and softball are really good collegiate sports, even in the Northeast, where we are weather-challenged,” said Chris Bledsoe, the university’s athletic director. “And if we didn’t have them, it was a hole.”

Bledsoe’s aspirations go beyond merely adding the sports.

“Our expectation is we’re going to be pretty good pretty quickly,” he said.

Image

N.Y.U.’s baseball team in the 1940s. In the middle row at left is Ralph Branca, a right-hander who broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1944.CreditNew York University Athletics

Kimbler, 45, a former minor league infielder, has shown the ability to recruit nationally. Nine members of the 31-man roster arrived from California. Kimbler’s willingness to endure growing pains with so many freshmen — he could have gone for a quick fix by signing junior college transfers — underscores his desire to build a program for the long haul.

“Being able to play four years, it’s going to help leaps and bounds confidence-wise,” said Cameron Serapilio-Frank, a freshman right-hander. “I really feel comfortable with how much our team is growing this year, but I can only imagine where we’re going to be in three years when we have gotten used to the college setup and the way things are run. I think sophomore, junior and especially senior year, we can make some really big noise.”

The Violets will take a 1-2 record into what looms as the most challenging part of their schedule, when they begin league play and face their University Athletic Association opponents from March 8 to 15 in Sanford, Fla. They will not play their home opener until March 28, when they host Brandeis for a doubleheader at MCU Park in Brooklyn. The field also serves as home for the Brooklyn Cyclones, a Mets affiliate. N.Y.U. has a five-year agreement to use the ballpark, which is about a 45-minute drive from campus. Kimbler, keenly aware of the fragile makeup of the roster and the urgent need to instill confidence, is working to build off that lone victory.

Image

Members of the team stretching at a practice at the Coles Sports Center.CreditMichael Appleton for The New York Times

“I don’t know if there will be another game this year that’s bigger than that,” he said. “That game let them know that, yeah, they’re young, but they’re actually pretty good, too.”

Still, the shortage of upperclassmen can be daunting.

“For them, the scary part is getting on the field and not having any senior leadership,” Kimbler said. “Normally, you have players who set the tone for the freshmen coming in about how things work, how things are done, the philosophy here. Normally, that comes from your junior and senior leadership.”

To compensate for that, the coach and his staff are doing everything they can to keep the game simple. They emphasize fundamentals like throwing strikes, making routine plays, getting bunts down and not allowing mistakes to mount.

Image

Pitcher Michael Anastasiou, of Scotch Plains, N.J., one of 23 freshmen on the team, tried out his cap.CreditMichael Appleton for The New York Times

“Our motto is pay attention to detail and play everything like it’s Game 7,” Kimbler said.

According to Serapilio-Frank, the chance to build a foundation for the future is part of what attracted him. In his case, he declined offers from Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

“When you play for an established program, you just kind of fall into place,” he said. “When you get to be a pioneer and bring back baseball to a city it belongs in, that definitely means a lot more to people.”

N.Y.U. appealed to Millus, who made an auspicious debut with his one-pitch save, for the same reason.

“We all want to write our own history,” he said.

Correction:March 3, 2015

An earlier version of a picture caption with this article misstated part of the name of an athletic center at New York University. It is the Coles Sports Center, not Cole. A different caption described incorrectly the court in which players were hitting off a tee. It is a racquetball court, not squash.